3 things to have in mind while designing a studio apartment

There are so many great blog posts and articles about beautiful studio apartments that makes us wish we lived in one. They are all clutter-free, bright and cozy.
People who live in studios might be surprised by the fact that we really believe that those gorgeous apartments are not just make-believe scenes for photo shoots. Of course, there are few important things to have in mind while designing a studio apartment and it can be very helpful to pay attention to those details when you see photos of an interior that you like.

1. Storage solution in a studio apartment

We cannot stress this enough. Just because you live in a small space does not mean you have any less stuff than anyone else. You know that this is the case with clothes and shoes and makeup, but you also have a vacuum cleaner, holiday ornaments, linen, bottles of detergents, maybe an artificial Christmas tree, a case of water bottles or beer. Without space specifically provided for these and similar stuff, you can’t have the beautiful clutter-free studio you’re hoping for.
You will not change for your new apartment. If you don’t throw away old stuff you don’t use anymore, you will not throw it away after your apartment upgrade is finished. And that’s ok. You shouldn’t change who you are to fit in your space, your space should fit for you.

It might sound tricky, but there is a simple solution that works for almost every studio apartment we have ever seen. We like to call it “the storage wall”.

See what we did there? We detected that one side of the main room and decided to completely cover it with a storage unit. The important thing is: now we don’t have 10 different pieces of furniture for different functions – wardrobe, media center, bookcase – we have one big element and lots of free space.

There is one thing you should know: 60 cm is the magic size for interior design. Almost everything fits in 60 cm! A depth of kitchen elements is 60 cm, also depth and width of kitchen appliances, washing machines and dryers (you can find bigger and smaller ones, but standard dimension really is 60 cm). Standard depth of closet is also 60 cm! We will often talk about these modular dimensions because once you learn few furniture sizes and how far apart from one another pieces of furniture have to be, you’ll be able to design like a pro!

2. Kitchen solution in a studio apartment

In this example, we had to deal with a really small studio apartment (24 sqm). As a result, the kitchen is also a part of the main storage unit. Please note: this was a reconstruction of an old apartment. To cut the costs and stay in the budget, we decided to use the existing plumbing system and electrical installations.

Ideally, a size of the kitchen should depend on your cooking habits and not on the size of the apartment. Of course, you’ll probably need to compromise but if you need a fully functional kitchen, be sure to place furniture that can be used as extra workspace during your cooking time (like dining table) close to the kitchen counter. You know, it’s hardly likely you’ll cook and eat at the same time.

3. Space saving solutions

When designing an apartment, not just a studio apartment, but basically any space, don’t just think about space arrangement, but also time arrangement. See, you won’t cook and eat at the same time, but you probably won’t eat and work on your laptop at the same time as much as you won’t sleep and entertain or shower and do laundry. Which means, it’s ok if you can’t reach your vacuum cleaner once you made your bed in the evening, that just means you overlapped two usable areas to save space.

In this example, you can see how we overlapped dining area with entrance area, kitchen area with dining area, living room area with sleeping area. Try to imagine a daily routine of one person who lives in this apartment. That’s exactly what you should think about while designing your own studio.

One extra tip:
Loft beds are so cool. They seem to solve every problem in a tiny apartment if it’s high enough. We are also big fans, but remember! You will not change for your apartment. Are you the kind of person who won’t mind climbing those stairs every evening? And down every morning? And sometimes during the night? Are you the kind of person who invites their friends or family members to stay over and you need an extra bed for those occasions? Are you the kind of person who hates making their bed and it’s so perfect for you to have it all messy above your head?

ABOUT US

We are Tina and Petra, two aunts, architects and blog partners at upgradesign.blog.
Our mission is to provide simple, useful and inspirational tips to help you design functional, clutter-free and beautiful personal space.